Temptation
by EmperorDoofenshmirtz
Summary: It would be so... easy. Oneshot, set during SBTY.


**Hello! Just a small idea I had while finishing off my main fic, so it's not great, it's just a drabble from Ferb's point of view. Takes place during 'Summer Belongs to You!' Enjoy.**

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Well, as he says, it is our worst landing yet. I expected as much. What I did not expect, however, was him going completely postal on me. I gaze down into the pit he's scraped out, listening to his odd yelping.

"There's gotta be some minerals or something!"

I don't think it would be wise for me to intervene. I don't have any sort of purpose or direction without his leadership, so I just sit down and await some sort of return to sanity. I actually prefer this stop to our other ones. I mean, I feel guilty saying that, given Phineas' current state, but Paris was a disaster. It's so tranquil here – the setting sun gives it such a beautiful glow. Perhaps it's the calm before the storm, but given what I've just been through, it's more likely to be the eye of the storm. Out of the corner of my eye, something moves. I lazily turn my head to see her head down to the waterside by herself. I'm not really one for guessing how people are feeling – that probably comes under Phineas' jurisdiction, although he's so oblivious sometimes I wonder. Regardless, she appears to be upset.

There's an odd feeling in my stomach. It would be so… _easy_ to take advantage of the situation, to give myself some sort of consolation prize. After all, romance didn't work out for her, it didn't work out for me – it's simple logic, surely? What's that called again, a rebound? It would be like that for both of us, some solace found in one another. I feel almost entitled to it – I don't want to feel this dejected all the time. When Vanessa left I think I fell ill. Or maybe I _was_ ill and just snapped back to reality: there are other girls out there. I don't need to be like Candace, chasing after one target for years on end. People move on. Surely she'll understand that – I mean she must have realised that he's far too interested in his own projects to pay her some attention.

Now that I think about it, she definitely deserves some attention. She is rather cute after all. But here's the problem – if I do this, like I've rationalised, surely it would feel like the right thing to do. I just feel guilt, and I don't know why. Is this how adults think? Constantly chasing various different attractors like a dog chasing cars? Is each one a distraction from the previous, a new bandage for a wound? That's what I'm doing, I realise. It wouldn't be right to use someone like that.

Oh god, she's crying. This is what I mean when I say Phineas has the emotional grasp of things – I know next to nothing about expressing myself. I prefer gestures, or some sort of calm to feel better – why is she crying? Regardless of why she's doing it, I figure I should try to make her stop.

I offer her my handkerchief in silence. A _clean_ handkerchief, obviously. She smiles a little, and immediately my thoughts return to the 'rebound' idea.

"Thanks, Ferb. I just don't know what to do."

Neither do I, kid. My brain is working at extreme speed trying to figure this out. Kiss her, support her, leave her, run away. Who would have thought love was such a difficult thing to deal with? I thought all those whiny songs were just that, but it seems they might have a point.

"We were in Paris! The most romantic city in the world and he didn't even notice me!" She blows her nose quite violently. I know how she feels though – people date when they have things in common, don't they? Part of me wants to kiss her, but part of me wants to give her a hug just to make her feel better. I wonder how she'd react. She thinks of me as a brother I'm sure. It would be like a betrayal. I don't know if I could take advantage of her like that…

"I would give anything if he'd just sit down with me and watch this beautiful sunset…"

As I sit there, taking in all of her bad feelings like a giant English sponge, it hits me. The two of us have completely different ideas of romance. She wants some sort of old fashioned, Disney like experience. That is love, or at least I think so. Perhaps what I have is just an attraction, after all, I have no interest in all this Bronte, Austen… _stuff_. What happened to me? I know everything about mechanics and physics, and the biology of my situation is known to me, but I just can't get my head around all these emotions. She has something special with Phineas, requited or not… It just wouldn't be right to interfere with that. It's strangely… beautiful, I suppose. The gentle evolution of their relationship as he begins to grow up, her eventual happiness when he does…

I can hear Phineas running towards us, still in his slightly maddened state. However, he is heading towards her, and I owe her that much to give them some privacy. She's helped me as much as I've helped her by listening. I'm ready to move on from Vanessa without the need for any so-called 'rebound'.

I walk away from the two, a small smile on my face. They deserve each other, after all they've been through. No-one needs to hear _my _problems.

Besides, there's always those cute little Fireside Girls…

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**Thanks for reading!**


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